Santorum in Greenville testing possible presidential run (AUDIO)

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was in the Upstate Tuesday. Santorum held a “Meet and Greet” at Tommy’s Ham House in Greenville. He said the Upstate’s heavily conservative base makes it a great place to test the waters for a possible run at the Republican presidential nomination.

This is an area of the state that is obviously critical for anybody who wants to win the South Carolina Republican primary. I’m very proud of my conservative record and leadership on a lot of key conservative issues. I’m hopeful that that will conect with the people here in the Upstate.

Santorum said he is currently planning to take part in the GOP’s presidential debate in Greenville this May.

On Tuesday, he also weighed in on a possible shutdown of the federal government next month if both parties can’t agree on the budget.

House Republicans passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through FY 2011 over the weekend. However, the resolution contains $61 billion in cuts that Democrats say goes too far. The resolution faces an uncertain future with Democrats in control of the Senate and President Obama threatening to veto it.